Wrestling

Reed earns 100th victory

Winning the fifth-place match at 195 pounds in the Division I district tournament meant more to Reynoldsburg High School senior wrestler Jordan Reed than simply a chance to compete at state if one of the top four finishers from his weight class at district is unable.

The 9-3 victory Reed secured over Grove City senior Tavon Hudson on Feb. 23 at Hilliard Darby helped him reach 100 for his career, in addition to making him a winner in what likely will be his last match.

Reed isn't sure how much he'll compete in the future since he already has been accepted to Case Western Reserve University and aspires to attend MIT.

The state tournament is Thursday, Feb. 28, through Saturday, March 2, at Ohio State.

"It definitely added another layer of intensity because I knew it would be my last match if I lost," Reed said. "(Winning 100 is) really just a number. I'm a numbers guy, but my favorite thing about the year was seeing other guys on my team do so well."

Reed and senior Nick Johnston were the Raiders' only competitors at district Feb. 22 and 23.

Reed opened district by pinning Central Crossing's Robbie Fusner in 3 minutes, 29 seconds but lost to Mount Vernon's Matthew Lybarger 8-0 in the second round.

He then beat Groveport's Malcolm Solack 4-2 and pinned Westerville North's Nic Kramer in 4:00 before falling 7-4 to Lenn's Kamba of Olentangy Orange in his state-qualifying match.

Reed went 4-2 at district to improve to 36-10 on the season.

In a sectional tournament Feb. 16 at Watkins Memorial, Reed lost to Kamba 7-3 in the final.

"I wrestled really well," Reed said. "There was one match that I didn't, but I came through with the win (over Solack). Then I had a really tough kid from Westerville North and I thought that was by far one of the best matches I've had all year. I lost to (Kamba) in the sectional final and that was just one of those matches that I put everything on the line and took risks. His body type is the polar opposite of mine."

"He wrestled a really solid tournament," coach Jared Ball said. "He was in every match and he was aggressive. He did exactly what he needed to be doing at the end. The fact that he's a four-year wrestler speaks to his high level of performance."

Johnston lost his opening district match 12-8 to Pickerington North's George Dial. He then beat Gahanna's Doland Martin 8-5 before getting pinned in 2:04 by Marysville's Alex Roberts.

Johnston finished 30-10. He entered district after placing third at sectional.

"He had two tough losses," Ball said. "He battled and went out and gave it his best."